


Take Your Time

by kingofemo



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Cafe Leblanc (Persona 5), For a Friend, Gen, Original Characters - Freeform, Persona 5 Spoilers, The Velvet Room (Persona Series), murder. justice. friendship. peacoats.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-07
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2018-12-24 23:11:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12023034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingofemo/pseuds/kingofemo
Summary: A year after the Phantom Thieves disbanded, a mysterious FBI agent approaches the Cafe that once housed the True Trickster.She gives them an offer they don't believe they can refuse - the return of their traitor-turned-savior in exchange for one last heist.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As a forewarning, the italics are mostly going to show that said words have been 'translated,' in the future this won't be the case but that's how it'll start!
> 
> I'm super stoked to finally post this. It's been a while since I wrote anything.  
> Shout out to my bros that'll make appearances later and the art that my Art Friend made for this story. Hope you two like it!

As the door opened, a friendly chime echoed off of the walls of the cafe. The building was stuck in the nineties, it was almost surreal for the woman as she took in the smell and the atmosphere. She was definitely in the right place. 

She took a seat on stool, placing her briefcase at her feet, then tapped a soft beat on the wooden bar she was sitting at. It felt out of place, and part of her was asking to inquire about something harder than coffee. Whiskey seemed to suit this place a lot better.

 _“What will it be?”_ Came the voice of the man behind the bar, finally. He looked up at her over his glasses, wiping out a mug nonchalantly.

_“Just the house blend, please, with sugar.”_

A smile slightly pulled at the barista’s lips. _“Coming up.”_ He pushed the coffee toward the girl after it was poured, leaning on the counter behind him. _“You American? Hard not to hear the accent.”_

 _“Yeah, you caught me.”_ She took a sip of her drink, her fingers welcoming the warmth. _“This is delicious, by the way.”_

 _“Thank you,”_ The man’s smile widened a bit more. The place was empty, and there was a feeling that it might've been for a while in the air, but it wasn't unpleasant. It was better that way for her other motive, anyway. _“You here for business or pleasure?”_

 _“Business. I'm looking for someone,”_ She gave him a knowing smile. He was older, obviously a smoker from the way he was drumming his fingertips as if he wasn't sure what to do with them. No ring on his finger and circles under his eyes. He looked ordinary upon a first glance, but Melody knew better. He was definitely the man she was looking for, filled to the brim with knowledge, and the ability to find what she was truly looking for. _“I'm pretty sure I'm on the right track now, actually.”_

_“Well, hope your stay is pleasant. If you need anything else, let me know.”_

_“Thank you very much, sir.”_ She paused to take another sip, then let out a tiny sigh. _“I'm sorry, but what can I address you as?”_

 _“You know, growing up, I never expected Americans to be as friendly and as polite as they are.”_ He walked around to sit two stools away from her, lighting up a cigarette. _“My name is Sojiro Sakura.”_

Melody grinned, taking the moment to pull out a cigarette of her own and light it up as well. _“What a coincidence. I'm here looking for you.”_

Putting his cigarette into the ashtray, Sojiro sighed. _“What is your name, and what is your business with me?”_

 _“FBI Special Agent Melody Gordon,”_ Mel pulled at her jacket to expose the badge clinging to a pocket on the inside. _“You are in no danger and I'm here for positive reasons, I assure you.”_

Sojiro stood, sighed, and walked to the door. He flipped the open sign to closed, then sat next to Melody. _“I'll listen to you. What do you want?”_

_“The boy you housed a year and a half ago, the girl you are looking after, and their friends did me a great service. I'd like to compensate them for finishing my project.”_

“...Your _project, huh?”_ He furrowed his brow. _“The American government is looking for them? How do you know who I am?”_

Melody chuckled a little bit to herself, then let out a smoke ring. _“The government itself knows nothing. I'm in my own division, top secret. They don't know anything, but I know everything.”_

_“And how is that?”_

_“I have friends in both low and high places.”_ Sojiro was visibly upset, and she noted the tiny clench in his jaw. _“Honest, Mr. Sakura, I'd like to thank them in person if at all possible. They are in no danger whatsoever. I was simply never able to even face such a foe myself, and they were able to take him down. If you can contact them, I will pay you.”_

He softened, but only slightly. _“I don't think dragging them back into what they did would be healthy for them. They're all moved on. Leave the kids be.”_

 _“I’m here for Akira, mostly, if I'm being honest.”_ Melody’s voice was softer, but almost hesitant. _“I need his consent to alter something in -”_

_“He's past it all. It's been over a year, why are you asking for him now?”_

_“My Japanese was rusty, I wanted to make sure I was able to properly introduce myself to you all. Plus, I didn't come in contact with my source of information until after… he… was taken down. Even then, it was a while until he opened up to me.”_ Mel’s desperation was getting through to him. Just a bit more -

The bell chimed as the door opened and a loud _“Sojiro! I'm home!”_ rang in their ears. _“You sure closed up early today, why'd you -”_

Futaba Sakura could feel the tension. It caused her own body to threaten to seize up into an anxious ball, but she stood firmly on the ground.

 _“Go straight to the house today,”_ Sojiro demanded gently. _“We'll discuss this later.”_

 _“Nice to meet you,”_ Mel waved to her as Futaba did as she was told and bolted out the door with a squeak. After one final drag of her cigarette, Mel put it out in the ashtray and let out a tiny chuckle. _“She looks just like her mother.”_

_“You're bluffing.”_

Check.

 _“Sort of, If I'm being honest. I didn't know her personally, but we kept similar company.”_ Melody stood, collecting her briefcase and placing some money on the bar. _“She had to learn about the other world from someone, right? Would it not make sense that she gained access to it through someone she met sixteen or so years ago?”_

Sojiro completely stiffened. _“You're far too young to have known her back then.”_

_“I'll be back the same time tomorrow. I'd like to speak to Futaba when I come back. If that's alright with her, of course.”_

_“I'll… discuss it with her.”_

Checkmate. 

_“Thank you. As I said, I have something they could be interested in. Let her know that I can compensate with money as well, but what I have to offer is much more interesting than that.”_ And with a tiny bow, Agent Gordon was out the door and out of sight.

Futaba had been waiting outside of Cafe Leblanc, hiding quietly behind a potted plant. She darted inside, still nervous, and in a tiny voice, she asked, _“That… was for me?”_

 _“She was here for your friends, too. Apparently someone gave her our names and location.”_ He gave her a grave look. _“An American agent is interested in what you did last year. Said you finished what she started, and she had a way to thank you.”_

_“She said she's coming back tomorrow?”_

He nodded. 

_“I'm going to send some texts.”_

_“Do you think that's wise?”_ Sojiro furrowed his brow, shaking his head. _“If this is a trap…”_

_“Got the place bugged, remember? I caught that last part about mom. I want to know.”_ She shrugged as she typed out some messages, not looking up from her phone. _“Plus she knows about the big guy. And I haven't seen Akira in a long time.”_

She kept going, and Sojiro lit another cigarette. He knew there would be no stopping her, so he just sat and waited for her to be finished. 

_“Yes!”_ She smirked at her phone and fixed her glasses. _“I got literally everyone onboard. Makoto is even having Sae come with us to make we don't say anything stupid.”_

 _“You kids even thought of getting a lawyer,”_ Sojiro smiled lovingly at his daughter, but he was still visibly rattled. 

_“They're thinking she'll be all thrown off if she shows up expecting just you and I and all of us are here.”_ Futaba raised a finger as if making a point. _“If she's the real deal, we can just hear her out. If she's not, she's cornered.”_

 _“And if her intention is to cause you all harm?”_ Shaking his head again, more than displeased with the very thought. _“How will -”_

 _“Security camera, an obvious one. Over there.”_ She thought for a moment. _“We gotta make sure no one's here when she is. We should put the closed sign up an hour before she gets here and take it off completely around the time she's supposed to show up.”_

He had no choice but to play along. He just nodded.

 _“I wonder what she could have that's more interesting than money.”_ She sat, playing with the fabric of her shirt. _“That's what I wanna know.”_

 _“This is too strange to be real,”_ Defeated, Sojiro began cleaning up to close up the shop. _“And outdated.”_

_“At least her Japanese sounds good. If she just spoke English we'd have to make Ann translate the harder stuff and that'd be annoying.”_

_“So you're all gathering here tomorrow… Just like old times. I'll make curry for everybody, let them know I'll at least make it worth their while if this falls through.”_

Futaba gave Sojiro a squeeze. _“I've got a good feeling about this. Trust me, Dad."_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> obligatory thanks again to Art friend

_“Mona! Akira!”_ Futaba launched herself at her friend, her arms slinging around his neck. _“I can't believe you're here so early! Did you skip class?”_

 _“Not really,”_ The boy chuckled - his smirk said otherwise. He made sure she was placed softly and securely on on the ground.

 _“He totally did,”_ Morgana squeezed himself out of Akira's bag, climbing out and clinging to his shoulder. He shot him a disapproving cat look. _“I think you got him back into thief mode.”_

 _“I'm still skeptical, but it could be interesting. It'll be nice to see everybody, too.”_ Akira walked into Leblanc with Futaba, instantly sitting down at the bar and beaming up at his former guardian. _“I’m home!”_

_“What did I tell you about having that cat out during -”_

_“Alright, let's close up early!”_ Futaba threw her arms in the air, as if presenting Akira to an audience. 

_“That's no way to run a business.”_

_“She said she's giving us money! Maybe it'll be a lot!”_ She turned over the open sign to ‘closed,’ then raced over to pet Morgana. _“I miiiiissed you, Mona!”_

 _“Stop that!”_ He groaned, clinging to Akira as she tried to pull him away.

 _“Yo!”_ The next to walk inside was Ryuji, beaming upon seeing his best friend was already there. _“Awe, damn, I ran all the way here thinking I'd beat ya. You're always one step ahead of me.”_

Akira stood and wrapped his arms around him, as if they hadn't seen each other in years.

 _“Did you skip a class too, Ryuji?”_ Morgan asked with a heavy sigh.

 _“Oooh, right. Probably should've soaked up some more English if she's American, huh?”_ Ryuji pulled himself away from his friend’s embrace, then bounced over to the middle booth in the cafe. _“Ah, well. She speaks Japanese, right? It'll be fine.”_

_“You never change, do you?”_

_“Hey, kid, you wanna come back here and make some coffee for your friend like old times?”_ Sojiro cut in, mostly just because he was jealous of their understanding of the cat’s speech. _“I won't even make you wear the apron.”_

 _“You miss me, Boss?”_ Standing up, Akira raised an eyebrow at the older man, who just let out a sarcastic scoff. After washing his hands, he went to start at the coffee.

 _“Oh, that's right, the guy doesn't like the bitter stuff, does he?”_ Sojiro asked as Akira began packing the cup with sugar.

 _“Don't mind it much anymore, actually,”_ Stretching, Ryuji smirked over at the other two. _“Think that's a sign that I'm gettin’ more mature…”_

_“Right…”_

The rest of the posse began rolling in, and before they knew it, the entire group was sitting in one booth, a few extra chairs sitting at the edge of the table. Sojiro had been preparing them a meal on the house, and Futaba snatched off the open sign before one of the regulars could stagger in.

Everyone was reminiscing over their coffee and curry, and the cafe was much louder than ever before. Akira was a rare sight - even though he wasn't as far as he could be, the others had busy lives - it was nearing the end of high school for most of them. Makoto had already gotten into a prestigious school and was studying to be a prosecutor, Haru had the new cafe started up…

Sae sat at the bar across from the booth where the teenagers were crowding, having a pleasant conversation with Sojiro. Even she had a plate of curry - the only one who didn't have any was Futaba, who had already inhaled her serving.

_“So… is she hot?”_

_“That's all you want to know, Ryuji?”_ Ann groaned, rolling her eyes.

_“We should be discussing how trustworthy she seems. What did she say to you, Futaba? Anything strange?”_

_“She looks weird. She was in a big coat and had gloves on.”_ Futaba poked at the few grains of rice remaining on her plate. _“It's not even cold outside. I'd be dying in that.”_

 _“Her badge was real,”_ Chimed in Sojiro. _“I've worked with enough officials to be confident with that.”_

 _“Akira already served his sentence and has been pardoned, so she shouldn't be here to take any legal action. Not that she'd have any power here, anyway,”_ Makoto thought out loud. 

_“She called taking down the Holy Grail her project,”_ Everyone grew quiet. _“And she said she knew how Mom learned about the metaverse.”_

 _“It's pretty obvious that she knows her stuff, and that she knows who we are. She might know all of our identities.”_ Morgana sat on the table, his tail swishing in thought. _“This all might be bigger than just Japan.”_

 _“If she offers us more work, I'm uninterested,”_ Yusuke was sitting in the middle of the booth, squishing his food around.

 _“We know,”_ Ann sighed. _“I'm not sure if I would want to now, either.”_

 _“But we destroyed the metaverse, there's no way she has more work for us. Right, Mona?”_ Haru looked at the cat, pleading.

_“We did… I'm sure of that.”_

_“But if it was truly gone… would you not be, Morgana?”_ Yusuke didn't look up from his food.

 _“To tell the truth, the thought crossed my mind as well,”_ Makoto admitted sadly. 

_“Holy shit…”_ Ryuji’s eyes went wide with a mixture of wonder and disbelief. _“You think if it's still there she'll ask us to start huntin’ down criminals again?”_

 _“Would that be what constitutes as ‘more interesting than money’?”_ Akira was quiet, not really expressing his feelings on the matter. 

The bell chimed as the door opened, and silence took over the cafe.

She was there. 

Melody was wearing the same crimson peacoat, her stupid black gloves, and her unnatural, bleached blonde hair looked as if she'd been blown in by a storm. _“I'm sorry, I wasn't sure if you were open, I didn't see the sign from earlier, and -”_ She stopped inner tracks upon seeing the whole gang. _“Oh, hello… I wasn't expecting to see so many people here.”_

 _“We've been expecting you,”_ Akira’s voice was firm. _“What's your business with us? How much do you know?”_

Mel smirked. That one was the leader, no doubt. Even if she had never seen his mugshot, the pull she had toward him was enough to let her know. 

Every person sitting at the table was recognizable as the people that had been described to her, including the ex-prosecutor staring straight into her. She went over every single one, looking them up and down, until she was certain that this was the group of people she was hoping to see.

She was surprised how cooperative they'd decided to be. 

_“I was given all of your names and descriptions. I can feel safe saying that… yeah, technically all of you are former Phantom Thieves. First of all, I want to thank you on behalf of the world for taking down Yaldabaoth.”_ She paused, then produced her badge from within her jacket. _“My name is Special Agent Melody Gordon, and I, like Akira, am a Trickster.”_

The cafe was so quiet, the sounds of the not-too-far-off city were audible.

 _“I learned your names in the Velvet room.”_ She put the badge away, then took a seat on the bar next to Sae. _“I’d normally be reluctant to bring the Room up, but it seems the descriptions I was given were pretty spot on. I can confirm each of you.”_

 _“What do you mean, you heard about us there? We took out the metaverse the same time we took out that god. We haven't been able to get into the Velvet Room since the day we took him down,”_ Morgana growled. 

_“Well, you didn't destroy the whole thing. But you did take out the Mementos in Japan. Without Mementos, the metaverse is basically inaccessible."_

_“You… heard me,”_ He muttered, a shiver running through his fur.

 _“Of course. I was told about you too, Mona.”_ Mel smiled genuinely. _“I have a very solid source of information. I've been -”_

 _“The metaverse still exists?”_ Ryuji shouted as soon as it had truly sunk in that she wasn't bluffing. _“You mean we did that shit for nothing after all?”_

 _“No, don't get me wrong. You did the world a great service. And personally helped me as well, actually.”_ She lit a cigarette that she produced seemingly out of nowhere, taking a single drag and exhaling slowly. _“I'm going to be completely open with you in hopes that I gain your trust. You see, that god played this game where… I'm sure you know, but he'd pick someone he saw potential in, give them immense power, and in return he'd feed off their desires and ruin of those affected by that chosen puppet. There's always someone that Igor picks to stop them, and so on. The game begins once every ten to fifteen years. There are other realities that he pulls from, but he's taken a liking to ours as of late."_

 _“We thought you'd be bluffing,”_ Makoto asked quietly, trying to remain calm. _“May I ask where you learned about the metaverse?”_

 _“I… was chosen when when I was fourteen.”_ She dropped her calm demeanor and shivered, taking another drag. _“I was chosen and stepped into my first palace sixteen years ago.”_

 _“You're, like, thirty?!”_ Ryuji’s voice pierced the air, but drew no one's attention.

 _“I knew there was another catalyst as soon as I lost the persona He gave me. I was searching for this other person, because I was certain I could warn him of the true intentions of that god. I had such a cold trail, though, unable to go into the room while you were active and I was completely in the dark until your little band of thieves got popular.”_ Melody smiled genuinely, shaking her head. _“You know, I was permitted to speak with you upon your initial capture. I was flying to Japan when you apparently committed suicide.”_

 _“You…”_ Akira folded his hands together. _“You've got our attention. What do you want?”_

_“Let me start this out by saying that a Trickster, either the wild card or the catalyst, can't be killed in the metaverse.”_

It took a moment for things to settle in, but Makoto gasped. _“You’re kidding me…”_

_“The wild card and the catalyst don't go to the same Room, however. Well, not usually. But the second I saw the Red Room crumbling, I was able to break the door down and pull him into the Velvet Room to keep him safe.”_

_“Pull who?”_ Yusuke finally spoke, softly. 

_“His name’s Akechi. He's why I'm here today.”_

_“He's alive…?”_

_“Have you ever died in the metaverse, Akira?”_ She asked bluntly, taking another drag. 

_“Yes.”_ The rest of the room turned to him, equally confused. _“And I'd go back to Igor. He'd put me back to where I was just a bit before I was killed.”_

_"You've effing died?"_

_"Why have we never heard this?"_

_"You can respawn?"_

_“Same thing happens to other tricksters.”_ Agent Gordon nodded, matter-of-factly. She chuckled upon hearing everyone's interjections. _“Unless you lose the will to go back. Then... you're locked there.”_

_“I take it you've died there, too?”_ Sae asked quietly, just audible enough for all to hear. 

_“Yeah. I stayed in the red room for a long while, until I realized it was better for me to come home.”_ She paused. _“I have a final request for the thieves. I'd like to bring at least Akira to America, so you can enter the Velvet Room and remove Akechi from the Room.”_

_“Dude's a straight up criminal,”_ Ryuji’s eyebrows furrowed. _“He's better off gone, ain't he?”_ A small chorus of protest and agreement started up, but everyone went silent as soon as Akira closed his eyes and raised his hand as if to silence them. 

_“I'll go.”_

_“Dude…”_

_“He saved us. I'll do the same for him.”_

_“He straight up tried to kill you!”_ Ryuji slammed his fist on the table. _"Sure, he paid us back, but...:_

_“He had a good heart underneath at all,”_ Morgana muttered. _"But... what do you get out of him being out?"_

_"If a Trickster stays in the Velvet Room long enough, they become Igor's new attendant, and the other is... released."_ Melody put out her cigarette. _"Frankly, I'm not ready to say goodbye to Lavenza yet. And she isn't ready to go, either. He's agreed to come out if Akira comes with me and accepts his apology in person, and he's requested to be put on trial as soon as he's come to his senses back in this world."_

_"If we can save him, we have to,"_ Haru's soft voice called, determination on her face. _"I think we should bring him back if what you say is true."_ <

_"So... Did she request you come see us, then?"_ Still trying to figure her out, Akira prodded for more information. _"And how can you prove that you have no ill intentions for us?"_

_"She did. She and I have been friends for a very, very long time."_ Standing, Melody sifted through her pockets in her coat and set down a photo of four people; one was obviously her when she was young, one was a dark-haired and stern-faced girl, the next was a teenage boy with glasses and a distinct sidecut hairstyle, and the fourth... was Lavenza. Her hair light blonde and her eyes blue, still pale as if she hadn't touched the sun in years, but she appeared to be full of life. She looked like she was holding back laughter, holding a bouquet of flowers and leaning onto Melody's shoulder. _"As I said, if a Trickster dies in the metaverse, they go into their respective Rooms. Enough time passes in the Velvet Room, and the Trickster's there semi-permanently. I've already had to deal with her death once in the past."_

_"Holy shit..."_

_"I'd like to bring you all to a safe place in America where we can infiltrate and pull him out of there. I'll need Akira's help, but the bureau will be happy to compensate if you'd all like a vacation, as well."_ Melody snatched the photo back up, securing it neatly into her wallet. _"I'll give you my card so that you can contact me with your information on if and when you'd like to leave."_


	3. Chapter 3

Silence took everyone again as Melody Gordon turned and left, smirking to herself as the door closed behind her.

“ _Woah_ …” Ryuji snatched up the card that she left, gulping quietly as he read it. 

“ _I'm not going. We've done what we had to do_ ,” Yusuke crossed his arms, still weary of the idea of heading back into the other world. “ _I say we do not put our lives on the line again. Sure, we may save one life we had previously thought was lost, but is it worth risking all of our own again?_ ”

“ _She wrote here that she'll give us 25 million yen to split between us all if we help her out_ …”

“ _I must catch her and tell her we've decided to go at once_ ,” Yusuke stood, bumping Futaba slightly as he attempted to emerge from the booth.

“ _Calm down, Inari!”_ She hissed, pulling him back down. “ _We have time to think about this_.”

“ _Did she really seem trustworthy to you all?_ ” Makoto sighed, wringing her hands together nervously. “ _She said she worked for Him, that her persona was taken, that Lavenza was the wild card… doesn't that mean she was under the Holy Grail's influence?_ ”

“ _Yeah, but we saw a change in Akechi and she hopes to save_ his _life. Maybe she's had a change in hers, even if it was from us defeating that evil God._ ” Haru nodded matter-of-factly. “ _I would like to do all I can to help all of them.”_

_“I'm sorry, but I can't let Futaba go to America without me at such a young age, especially with how fishy this is,_ ” Sojiro shook his head. “ _She didn't even say where you'd be taken or how you even pull that boy out._ ”

“ _I can clear out a bit of my schedule if you need me to tag along._ ” As if taking the floor, Sae stood. “ _I find her much more believable than I thought possible. I can handle contacting her and setting up your ‘mission,’ long as you let me in on a potion._ ”

“ _Sis, don't you have things to do?_ ” Makoto was almost shocked, covering her mouth for a moment to stifle a gasp.

“ _If Akechi’s going to come back, he's going to draw a lot of attention. At least, considering here and there I see, to this day, articles about his disappearance. If he truly feels he must atone for what he's done, I can see to it that it's done._ ”

“ _His name was never brought up in Shido’s nor my investigation,_ ” Akira thought aloud. “ _What would he be tried for?_ ”

“ _Didn't the Agent say something about having her own district? She may be able to pull strings and try him as an international criminal if she's able to connect anything._ ”

“ _So we're all going to America to get Akechi, we're in agreement, then?_ ” Ann asked everyone, and they all nodded in unison, for one reason or another. “ _It’s… unanimous._ ”

“ _Let's steal one last treasure._ ”

“ _Dude, I don't think he counts as a treasure_ ,” Ryuji shot Akira a look, one eyebrow raised.

“ _Let's steal one more heart?_ ” He leaned closer to Ryuji, mock-menacingly mirroring his eyebrow. 

“ _That sounds even worse!_ ”

Sae took the card from the table, stifling a chuckle. “ _Look, it’s almost like a calling card._ ”

“ _H-hey, I didn't say yes to this_ ,” Sojiro interjected. “ _I'm going with you, too. Once you find out where you're going, I'm watching from a distance to make sure this isn't some elaborate kidnapping scheme._ ”

“ _Perhaps we can arrange one final meeting with her before we embark on our journey_ ,” Haru proposed.

 

_“I'll contact her myself. She said he wants me to be the one that gets him. I’ll see her one more time, and I’ll get everything out of her._ ” Akira fidgeted with a strand of his hair that was in his eyes. “ _I’ll meet with her privately if she lets me. Here, hand me that card_.”

Sae slid the card over to him, and he punched in the information. He pressed the call button and put his phone to his ear.

“ _You’re calling her already?_ ” Ann asked, shocked. “ _Doesn’t that seem desperate?_ ”  
  


“ _Guys, I think that -_ ”

Akira hushed them with a finger in the air, speaking normal pleasantries on the phone. Once the arrangements had been made, he thanked Gordon, and placed his phone back down onto the table. _“Done. I’m meeting with her later tonight. She’s only planning on staying in Japan for a few days.”_

_ “She expects us to be able to pack up and leave just like that? What if -” _

“ _She said she didn’t plan on us being ready so soon, so she’d be able to send a jet whenever we decide is best, but she asks that we hurry because there probably isn’t much time. But I’ll make sure today that she is what she says she is. I’ll bring Morgana, too. Seeing as we know the most about the Velvet Room._ ” Akira leaned back in the booth. 

“ _A private jet? This girl could be really important_.” Sae pondered.

“ _Wouldja just effin’ let me talk?_ ” Ryuji huffed, finally having enough. “ _I’m going with you. We started this thing together and I’m going with you for this, too. We’ll good cop, bad cop this thing. I’m not takin’ no for an answer._ ”

“ _Fine. But no one else, or we’ll scare her away_.” Akira gave an apologetic smile to the others, a couple of which were about to protest.

_“What are you talking about? You’re taking the worst possible person with you if you don’t want to offend her.”_ Morgana muttered.

_ “Shut it, cat!” _

“ _Our reunion has been long overdue,_ ” Yusuke muttered, smiling softly. “ _I look forward to spending time with everyone again, even if I am not thrilled that we have to go so far to do so._ ”

  
After about an hour of excited chatter, Akira was packing up to meet the Agent, saying his goodbyes to the others and pulling Ryuji with him. He promised to keep everyone updated, and headed for the station.

“ _Uh… where did she say she wanted to meet you?_ ” Ryuji asked, keeping at Akira’s heels.

“ _The diner_ ,” He replied simply.

Once they had gotten there, he walked in and sat pleasantly across from the familiar face. Melody sat down her tea, slightly screwing up her face as she scanned them. “ _You said you’d be coming alone?_ ”

“ _Ryuji was with me the first time we entered the metaverse, and he’s going to be with me through every other step of the way._ ”

“ _Hell yeah, I am,_ ” Ryuji grinned, taking the outside seat and spreading out in the booth.

“ _Okay._ ” They were both a little surprised about how fine with it she was, considering it would be an important meeting. “ _I understand that you’re not completely convinced yet, and that’s alright. I said earlier I’d answer any question that you have. Please, ask away._ ”

“ _I want to hear your entire story, start to finish._ ” Akira folded his hands. “ _I want to know how you awoke to your power and how you came to know Lavenza._ ”

_“Very well._ ”

“ _And I want to know how we should trust someone that made a deal with Yaldaboath._ ”

Melody blinked, picking her tea back up and taking a sip. “ _I understand your reluctance completely. I wouldn’t have believed me if I was in your shoes, either._ ”

“ _Yeah, I mean, he was the whole reason everything got effed up to begin with, how could you even work with someone like that?_ ” Ryuji crossed his arms. “ _Did he not give you a choice or somethin’?_ ”

“ _No, he did. I just betrayed him when I made my promise._ ” She glanced around, making sure that there would be no one to interrupt them, save the waitress. “ _We’re safe to talk about this here. You said you wanted the whole story, correct? You are aware that it’ll be long, right?_ ”

“ _We don’t have school tomorrow, we can be here all night._ ”

“ _Alright, let’s start from the beginning then. I was fourteen when I was chosen.” Melody shivered. “He likes to prey on children, on abuse victims._ ”

“ _Alright, lay it on us._ ”

-

_ Bang _ .

A single shot. 

Just a few seconds and the victim was dead.

One decision, and a man's life has been taken.

Melody Gordon, thirteen years old, was hiding behind a tree, her chest heaving. She had her fingernails of her right hand digging into the skin of her left arm, hard enough to draw blood. Tears fell freely, and she tried to control her sobs, but she was failing this time.

“Melody, get out here,” Came the voice from the man behind the gun. “We're done, just gotta make a phone call and it'll be over.”

She composed herself as fast as she could, wiping most of her tears away with a sleeve. “Y-yeah, alright,” Melody dragged her feet over to stand next to her father, stone-faced yet trembling. 

“I know you were crying. You can't hide that from me. Suck it up and start the car while I get this sorted out.” He tossed his keys to her, which she barely caught with her tiny, shaking hands. Melody turned away and marched, emotionless, toward the car. Producing a flip phone from his pocket, Gordon made the arrangements for the body to be burned. 

The  _ body _ . The  _ mess.  _ That's all that man was to her father. 

Did he do something? Did he squeal? Was he in the way? Did he know something that could get them tossed into jail? Was this something that the Family put him up to?

No. None of that should matter. 

His life just ended.

His goals, dreams, desires, everything… over. 

If he had any family, friends, lovers, anyone that would miss him… 

She turned the key of her father's grey Ford, the one he got from the Family that would blend in with every other car in the city. It roared to life pleasantly, as if the world hadn't just changed right before her eyes.

That man's intelligence or lack thereof, his experiences, his thoughts and feelings… they'd go up in smoke in an accidental dumpster fire somewhere in the middle of nowhere, Ohio. One phone call, and he'd be nothing but ash by tomorrow morning.

Melody sat in the passenger seat, her veins coursing with thick sorrow, adrenaline, and inconsolable fear of her father.

He got into the car the same as if he had just filled the trunk with groceries or had come back from depositing something into the bank. He pulled his seatbelt on and glanced over to his visibly shaken daughter. “Hey, I ain't leavin’ till you're safe.”

“Right,” She buckled hers, as well. “I'm sorry, sir.”

He drove silently for ten minutes, then attempted to break the tension with a quiet, “Sorry you had to see that, kiddo. I didn't mean for you to be with me when I saw him the next time. You were smart to hide like that in case he got away somehow.” His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, and Melody’s nails dug into her arm again. “If he opened his mouth one more fucking time…”

“I understand.” She did not. It was just safer to nod and keep being polite.

“You know, I wouldn't do this if I didn't love you.” Here it comes. “This is all for you, kid. Putting my whole life on the line.”

“Thank you, sir.” As if his was worth more than the man he'd killed.

“We almost got enough money. Then we'll be ready to go and get you fixed up. They've already got me a place to go. Now that he's over with, it'll just be a few weeks.” He beamed with pride. “Be glad you got me as a dad and not some pussy. You wouldn't be here right now if it had been anyone else.”

Not that she wanted to be there.

“I am grateful, sir.”

“Las fuckin’ Vegas,” Mr. Gordon shook his head, letting out a little chuckle. “I can't believe we're having our dreams come true. Moving schools’ll be hard, but if you man up, you'll be fine. I always was.”

“I’ll be okay.” 

"Damn right you will. You're just like me, independent. Stay that way."

 

After several weeks of packing, getting things situated, and Mr. Gordon counting his money, they headed off to Las Vegas. Melody didn't need to say any goodbyes, seeing as she was forced to keep to herself and had so few friends besides some that she'd met over the internet. He'd gotten a job as a dealer in the Family's casino, a smaller one very much outside of the Strip. With his mathematical genius and his own history of cheating the system, he was the perfect fit for what they were looking for. It would pay a lot more than his previous bouncing job at the club in the city she grew up in, a couple of hours from Detroit. The money coming in from the job would be able to pay for him to hire someone to look after her for a few months without him having to help out _too_ much. Somehow the Family had their influence spread all the way to California, even - but there weren't any jobs for her father open there at the moment. 

 

Melody kept to herself, only keeping relationships with people she'd met online in her Dungeons and Dragons campaign. She would skype them at least once a week - mostly making sure that her friend Max was doing alright after her accident.

 

But she had her own health to worry about. The other reason they moved here - the heart center. She'd been through multiple tests, weeks wearing monitors, being picked on for all of the wires hanging out of her shirt at school. When summer came around and school was out, she was admitted into the hospital, and she went under for her transplant.

 

Her father _was_ there for the week that she was in the hospital, for at least a few hours a day. She wasn't completely alone, but her laptop was still her best friend when they allowed her to be on it. A nurse was assigned to take care of her in their home, and after three months, she was healed up and ready to go back to school.

 

One last skype session before high school started, and she bore her scar proudly.

 

_D: Damn, dude, that looks sick!_  
_H: You look so good! Have a good day! I remember back in the day, when I was going into freshman year..._  
_D: Isaac, you're a Junior now.  
_ _H: Ahh, the good ol' days..._

 

Melody laughed, signed out, and walked into school with pride.

 

That would be the only time she'd ever wear a v-neck shirt.

 

-

 

" _Wait okay, so you saw a guy get straight up murdered when you were a kid?"_ Ryuji muttered. " _You..."_

 

_"Have_ you _ever killed anyone, Melody?"_ Akira asked, his tone unreadable.

 

" _Yes_." Melody looked down into her tea, not wanting to look up into their eyes as a wave of emotion took over her. " _I_...  _I was the one that killed Lavenza_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so art friend made a drawing of that photo mentioned at the end of the previous chapter and once it gets uploaded I'm going to post it everywhere I am SO honored.  
> Also as a warning there will be quite a few more adult themes thrown into this, including self harm and sexual assault. There's at least another four or five chapters in the works, it might be a bit of time between chapters, but thank you so much for reading what I have!! <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, folks, this is where that M turns from "the fuck word is in this story!" to please, do not read on if you are triggered by mentions of self harm or sexual/emotional abuse. Things like this will be mentioned or insinuated quite a few times.
> 
> Please stay safe!
> 
> Also, buckle up, here's some exposition so I can get to the thievin'!

Silence.

 

The boys just stared at her for a moment, not sure how to process what she just said. Morgana stuck his head out of Akira’s bag and shouted.

 

“ _How dare you!_ ” He let out, a loud meow that drew some attention to the table.

 

“ _Keep it down!_ ” She hissed. “ _You brought the cat, too?_ ”

 

“ _Can we help you?_ ” The waitress came over to them, searching for the source of the sound. Akira shoved Morgana back into the bag, just in time.

 

“ _Oh, yes please. Could you bring us two more cups of tea?_ ”

 

“ _Alright, I’ll be right back_.”

 

“ _Listen to me,_ ” Mel whispered. “ _I’ve done some bad things in my life, but that was the last one._ ”

 

“ _You fucking… killed her?_ ” Ryuji was quieter than ever, his face white. “ _You’re a murderer?_ ”

 

“ _It’s a lot deeper than that, please don’t call me that. She… asked me to._ ”

 

“ _She asked you to?_ ” Akira shook his head, doubtful.

 

“ _I’m not finished with the story. I’m trying to make it as short as I can to not keep you._ ” She drummed her fingers on the table. “ _There’s more to it, just like it’d take hours to tell yours, right?_ ”

 

“ _True_.”

 

“ _I’ve got the gist, though, like I said. Pretty complex from what I’ve heard, you gave that kid such a good double-cross. Making him think you were dead was genius._ ”

 

“ _Here’s your tea._ ” The waitress returned, setting both cups on the table and darting her eyes across it to find the source of the meowing.

 

“ _Thank you!_ ”

 

As soon as the woman walked away, Melody’s face snapped back into a scowl. “ _In all seriousness, maybe just taking you there as some sort of reward for a rigged school event would’ve been better, but I know how important the rest of your party is. I just… need you to trust me. This is important to more than just me. I’m not just saving Lavenza, or rescuing the kid…_ ” She sighed, folding her hands together and closing her eyes. _“I made one final contract with Igor, myself. He said that if I’m able to go through with this, I’ll be given part of my power that I lost when Yaldabaoth was killed so that I may find the rest of my band of thieves, too._ ”

 

“ _There were more of you, too?_ ” Morgana was much quieter, poking his head out of the bag only slightly.

 

“ _There were four of us, total, I guess,_ ” She visibly shook off her discomfort, then sipped at her tea again. “ _All bound by fate, it seemed. It’s almost like if us meeting was arranged._ ”

 

Akira nodded. Definitely sounded like a familiar scenario.

 

“ _I’ll listen to what you have to say. I don’t consider this trust just yet, but I will give you the opportunity to earn it._ ” He looked into Melody’s eyes, which were piercing through him. The brown seemed almost unnatural, as if she were wearing color correcting contacts. Perhaps she was.

 

“ _Let’s make a deal,_ ” Mel proposed, extending a hand for him to shake. “ _If by the end of this, you’ve seen the truth, you at least will come with me to release Goro so that I may right my wrongs_.”

 

“ _Deal._ ” He took her hand firmly - though her grip was astounding. A voice rang through Akira’s mind,

 

 _Thou art I, and I am thou,_ _  
_ _Thou hast acquired a new vow._

 _It brings thee closer to escape._ _  
_ _With the power of the second awakening of the Justice persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead you to understand and new power..._

 

Melody’s strange expression led him to believe that she heard it, too - which she confirmed with a shaky, “ _That’s her voice, we still have time._ ”

 

“ _...Alright then._ ” Ryuji returned to his previous position, relaxing just a bit. “ _Then lay it on us._ ”

 

-

 

“Freak!”

 

“What a loser, look.”

 

Young Melody clutched her hoodie close to her. It was arguably scorching out, but she didn’t dare wear anything less. Except for gym class - which of course, for sake of convenience, was where she was headed.

 

She undressed in the locker room, not looking away from the inside of her locker for fear she’d meet someone’s eyes. God, this was the worst. She wore shorts and a t-shirt now, nervously crossing her arms to cover herself. No matter how many times she brought up her transplant to the teacher, nothing was done about it.

 

She was forced to run like everyone else, no matter how far behind the others she was.

 

Hell. Absolute hell. It had been six months since her surgery when she was finally pulled into the teacher’s office.

 

“Do you know why I brought you back here?” The teacher asked, motioning for her to sit in the chair in front of his desk.

 

“Because you finally looked at the letter I gave you?”

 

“Because it’s disrespectful for a student to forge such notes,” He responded. Her jaw dropped. “Do you want me to call your parents and tell them what’s happened here?”

 

“Mr. Peterson,” Melody muttered, so confused on what exactly he was accusing her of. “I didn’t forge that note, I got it from my doctor a few weeks ago, I -”

 

“Why didn’t you bring this to me sooner, then?”

 

“I… couldn’t find it, I thought you’d believe me,” She pulled at her sleeve and dug her nails into her skin. “I swear. I’ve been trying to tell you since class started, but I didn’t have followup until three weeks -”

 

“Laziness is no excuse to fall so far behind. I’ll be calling your parents right now, I’ve already looked up your home phone number.” He reached for the phone on his desk.

 

“No, don’t!” She shouted, getting to her feet.

 

“So you admit it,” He grinned, proud of his ‘deductive skills.’ “You will start putting more into class, or I’m going to make you fail.”

 

“What do I have to do to prove to you that I’m not lying?” She cried, pulling at the neck of her shirt. “I have scars to prove it, see? I’m not lazy, I’m not slow, I’m just… special, see?”

 

The teacher’ eyes narrowed as he noted the still very much pink scar on the teen’s chest, losing itself between her - “I see. And how far does that scar go?”

 

“Mr…. Peterson?” She instinctively crossed her arms over her chest. “I-I mean all the way down, couple of inches above my bellybutton, I guess?”

 

“Does it?” He raised an eyebrow. “What did you have done?”

 

“A lot of stuff I don’t understand, but I think the part that goes to my lungs wasn’t working so good, so they…”

  
“Show me.”

 

“Mr…”

 

He stood, towering over her.

 

Her vision went black. Her father’s voice pierced her thoughts.

 

_You have to do this. You don’t have a choice._

_When someone in power tells you to do something, you fucking do it._  
_Why aren’t you doing it?_ _  
_ _Do you need me to tell you again?_

 

“I see.” He nodded as she adjusted her shirt. “You’re not out of the water. I want you to work harder, or I’ll let out that you exposed yourself to your teacher.

 

Check.

 

“But, Mr. Peterson, you -”

 

“Lying is not forgivable. This could be a much bigger offense than forging a letter from a doctor.”

 

“I’m not lying, damn it!” She had tears streaming down from her face now, a mixture of disgust of herself and fear of her father hearing anything from the school. He warned her, if he was to get a call that she was in trouble, he’d… do what he does best.

 

“One more word, and it’s detention. Here’s a pass for your next class, because you’re late.” He handed her a piece of paper with a note on it. “You say nothing or your family will hear everything. I only asked to see your scar, you see what I’m saying? This is all on you.”

 

A disgusting grin pulled at his lips.

 

Checkmate.

 

Mel snatched the paper and raced to get changed and headed to her next class, distant and attempting not to make any eye contact with anyone until she was home.

 

Melody slipped open the drawer under her bed, reaching for her knife she hoped to never use, hearing disappointed words from her father letting her know she’d have to discipline herself.

 

 _But there is a way to discipline him, instead,_ a voice from somewhere within her whispered, a deep and guttural growl.

 

She shook the thought away. He was an adult. Adults are always right.

 

_There may be a way to hurt them as they have hurt you…_

 

Melody had accepted, at this point, that she’d gone crazy.

 

After dinner, after homework, after a long ‘I’m not in the mood to rp tonight’ message, she went to bed.

 

She woke to the sickeningly familiar scent of latex and sanitizer. The room had a dim, red glow, emanating from the walls and from symmetrically placed light blocks above her. Melody panicked, grasping at her face to feel for the tube in her throat that she woke up with last time.

 

But there was nothing.

 

“Hello?”

 

_Hello._

 

She jumped out of her hospital bed, pulling together the gown that was opened in the front. She tied it so that it wouldn’t be open anymore, her chest pounding. Was this a nightmare? It was too real to be a nightmare.

 

_I have chosen you. I will grant you great power, to destroy those who have hurt you, to wreak havoc on those who have destroyed all you believe in. You must only agree, and I will guide you. You will be able to manipulate the will of those around you with distorted hearts, as there are many._

 

“The hell do you mean,” She looked desperately for the source of the voice, but it seemed to be coming from all directions.

 

A piece of paper manifested itself at the foot of her bed, a contract.

 

_You need only sign._

 

She sat back down on the bed. That was it. It was a dream. It didn’t matter. Great power? Sure. Whatever. She reached for the pen, trying to make out the words on the contract but they were somehow foreign to her. “You gonna tell me what this says? I don’t know how to read Latin. Or… whatever this is.”

 

_You need only sign. From there, you will be able to enter the hearts of the disturbed and the distorted, and alter them how you see fit._

 

“And the catch?” Melody asked out loud, no longer searching for who she was talking to, hungrily eyeing the paper in her hands. “What’s in the fine print?”

 

 _You will have this power until you die._  
_  
_ _You will have this persona until the game is finished._

 

“Alright, hold on,” She furrowed her brows. “Game… persona.”

 

_Yes. Once you have signed, I will amplify your power with the will of the Trickster God. The game is to be the ones to change the hearts of those who have hurt you._

 

“Sold,” She muttered, a shiver running down her spine. “I guess.” She scribbled her name, hesitantly. It _was_ a dream, right?

 

_Good. Now you will be able to do what they have done unto you._

 

“I’ll be able to control people’s will and give them the suffering they deserve…” She placed the paper back onto the hospital bed. “So… when does this start?”

 

_The game begins when you open your eyes._

 

-

 

Melody woke up to her alarm, same as always. Got dressed in baggy clothes to hide her body, same as always. She dragged her feet across the floor to her classes, scribbled half-hearted poetry about her dream into her notebook when she was to be listening and hauled herself to the girl’s locker room when it came time.

 

Control people’s hearts.

 

You know who needed a lesson? The teacher allowing these girls to dress the way they were. The one that put Melody, an early bloomer, let’s say, in the front of the class for what he called “ten minutes of pain.” Jump ropes. Jumping jacks.

 

_Bouncing._

 

Everyone in the school agreed that he was creepy, but from what Melody was able to overhear, he’d never actually done anything to a student.

 

Could that be true? Could she be the only one?

 

She plopped herself on the ground for roll call, her teacher walking in with his clipboard as the bell rang. Mel looked up at him, and a tiny, unidentifiable voice in her mind spoke.

 

 _Albert Peterson._ _  
_ _Lust for minors._

_School gym._

 

Now, where the hell did that come from? This voice was different than the one yesterday. She screwed up her face and smacked herself in the forehead. She was going crazy, alright.

 

“Gordon, are you feeling alright?” Mr. Peterson bent down to examine his student. “Your eyes are awfully red. Did you get something in them?”

 

“I… don’t feel so good,” She admitted, still applying pressure to her head.

 

“I’ll write you a pass, I guess. But if you come back without a good reason, you’re running laps.”

 

“Yes, Mr. Peterson,” She went straight out of the gym, not changing, just clutching the pass in one hand and trying to stop the ringing in her head with the other.

 

_Do you wish to enter his heart and take it for your own?_

 

“Yes,” Melody said out loud.

 

_Turn back now. Trust your sight. There is a door to his heart._

 

“Okay,” She followed the voice blindly, turning on her heel. Her vision was blurry, but he was correct. There was something different about the door to the gym. She opened it back up, expecting the class to stare at her.

 

Instead, she was greeted with a cavern of her peers hanging by chains on the walls, naked, emaciated, begging for attention as she walked in.

 

_You are inside of his heart. This is the way he views the world. What you see is the reality he’s created for himself._

 

Melody grimaced, trying not to look at what was in front of her.

 

“Who goes there?” A being stood before her, a -

 

-

 

“ _Yeah, we know how it goes. So you entered your teacher’s palace, and you had to learn how to fight shadows, we get it._ ” Ryuji decided to try a sip of the tea - not bad. “ _You got to his treasure, right?_ ”

 

“ _A perverted teacher was your first target,_ ” Akira shook his head again. “ _Unbelievable_.”

 

With a sigh, Melody shrugged. “ _Easy for high schoolers to come into contact with, I guess. That’s one thing that stays the same no matter where in the world you go._ ”

 

-

 

Once Melody had been able to use her persona, who called himself Loki, to absolutely _destroy_ the enemies that walked in her way. She was almost mad with power, giggling as she approached the core of the palace, a faintly discernable shape amidst a cloud of mystery.

 

_Now, do as I told you._

 

Her hands slipped into the cloud, grasping at whatever it was within it. She closed her eyes, envisioning his life turning to chaos, imagining him doing something stupid enough to get himself in enough trouble to land him in jail for the rest of his life.

 

The treasure turned to a sickly grey color - tainted, ruined. She dropped it, and it solidified into a horrid, jumbled mess onto the ground, cracking into pieces. Melody turned, whipping her newly-formed cape as she turned and walked out of the palace. It went dim, and the walls oozed with her influence.

 

_Good. Now, shall we see what we've done in the real world?_

 

 

She was already accustomed to Loki's voice, no longer afraid. Her footsteps were confident, elegant. She was a red streak of brightness gliding through the perverted fantasy of a horrible man, which was quickly forming into an oozing, black amalgamation of hopelessness and fear. The floor crumbled beneath every click of her heels, the female students chained up disappeared, the lighting of the room seemed to come from her, emanating from her flashy attire. She opened the gym door again, this time almost sad when her outfit disappeared and she was back in her shorts and her shirt.

 

 _Shit_ , what time was it? She looked up at the clock - it had been hours since Melody had walked into the palace. Oh, no. The pass wasn't going to be good enough to get her all the way through school, was it? 

 

She rushed to the locker room, a new confidence budding within her. She dressed herself, grabbed her things, and hurried to catch her bus.

 

...And she missed it.

 

She should've been terrified of what her father would do to her, but All Mel cared about was the new power that had been given to her - god, that felt wonderful. Whatever she did, she did it well. She was certain.

 

Kicking a rock on the pavement, Mel sighed and put her hands in her pockets. Looked like she was going to have to walk. She went to get her mp3 player out of her backpack when a soft voice asked, "Did you miss the bus?"

 

Melody turned to see who was talking to her, and was surprise to see someone shorter than her. That wasn't very common. "Uh, yeah. No big deal though, I don't actually live all that far away."

 

"I can see if my mother can give you a ride home, if that's the case!" The girl smiled - her teeth were  _perfect._ Melody blinked, not understanding the kindness this stranger was showing. "I saw you run all the way from there just to miss it. I was rooting for you, too."

 

"It happens. I'm not all that fast," Mel muttered. "I mean, if she can, that'd be really nice. But if I'm a burden, I -"

 

"No, no, you wouldn't be! My mother gets her car and her gas for free." The girl pulled some of her blonde hair back behind her ear to expose both of her big, beautiful blue eyes. "My name's Lavenza, by the way. You're Melody, right?"

 

"Uh, yeah, how'd you know my name?" Mel blinked, taken aback.

 

"Oh, we have history together." Lavenza sat at the curb, waiting for her ride. She patted the ground next to her until Melody took a seat next to her. "And... I saw you in the hospital a while ago, too."

 

"Why do you -" Mel shook her head. Not like she'd remember seeing the girl there, she hardly remembered anything about the hospital stay other than the few hours they skimped on the medicine. "You have someone get fixed up, too?"

 

"Yeah, me," She sighed. "How are you feeling?"

 

"Better than ever, actually. I still get tired easy, but I can breathe." She inhaled as if to show herself off. "What were you in for?"

 

"Just tests. They didn't really know what to do with me yet."

 

"No shit, you've got stuff going on, too?" Mel smiled. It was a bit morbid, but having someone her age she could talk about was so unheard of. "No wonder you're so little. Just like me."

 

"Yeah. But it's alright, I don't mind. It's really nice to meet someone who's going through the same thing," She stood upon seeing a black SUV pulling into the lot. "There she is!"

 

Melody stood as well, beaming at the girl next to her. She was probably the most beautiful thing Melody had ever set her eyes on. It seemed that things were already changing. She really was going to be alright, for real this time. Everything was going to turn around now.

 

When Melody got home, it seemed the chat had been quite active.

 

 _D: Yo, so, like, where's Melody?_  
_H: Where in the World is Melody Gordon??_  
_H: we should get her a red coat and a hat or something_  
_D: No, seriously, she's been afk for far too long. I'm sending a search party to Las Vegas._  
_H: We can make her a theme song!_  
_H: wait_  
_H: so my mom's getting like, shotgun married to that one dude I was talking about, right?_  
_H: Get this: I talked her into bringing us to Las Vegas for it since he's got all that cash!_  
_D: Dude, sweet! Get them to pay for me to go, too!_  


Melody got into her chair and let them know she had been found, the search party wasn't necessary, and that if Isaac - or Hex, as he went by in the chat - didn't show up at her doorstep when he was in town, she'd probably kick down his hotel door and fling herself at him.

 _H: aren't you like four foot something? Should I be scared or_  
_D: don't knock the small ones, dude. They're the scariest.  
_ _S: You don't know scary, trust me._

 

-

 

 _"The next day, Mr. Peterson holed himself up in his house and never really came out again."_ Melody shivered.  _"It's hard to believe I could have such confidence in what I was doing back then. It continued on for a while, I'm sure you know how that goes."_

 

 _"How did you meet the rest of your party?"_ Now also sipping at the tea, Akira hummed at its familiar flavor. Frui-tea. Good stuff.

 

 _"The funny thing is, I already knew them at this point."_ She smiled, leaning back.  _"Lavenza was the last I met. The other two were the ones I'd been playing games with online the whole time. Isaac's mom got married in Vegas a couple of months after I got my power on a whim, brought him with. And Max, she..."_

They waited for her to finish her sentence, since she had kind of trailed off.

 

 _"She ended up showing up at the same time as Isaac after all, and she stayed for a long time. Until her little sister died."_ Melody trailed off, pinching the bridge of her nose. " _Until I killed her."_

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a few weeks, have a BUNCH of content. The backstory is pretty much done besides a tiny bit of stuff that'll be added later.  
> But here's the squad!
> 
> SO ALSO, my art friend made a picture of the photo that was mentioned in the beginning and it was super sweet of him! Check it out if you'd like!  
> http://emikos-art-station.tumblr.com/post/165915658790
> 
> I have playlists for each OC as well as the original squad as well, I'll probably attach those to the other chapters.
> 
> Again, here's a major trigger warning. There's some domestic abuse and death and more, please stay safe!

“ _Okay, you need to stop sayin’ mysterious shit like that, what are you trying to do, leave it on a cliffhanger?_ ” Ryuji complained, fidgeting with his hands. “ _So you’re saying your friend… on the internet… was related to Lavenza?_ ”

 

“ _Her half sister_ ,” She nodded matter-of-factly. “ _Like I said, it’s almost as if it was staged. Max and her parents came over to say goodbye."_

 

“ _Damn, you guys had it pretty heavy._ ”

 

-

 

Off the beaten trail, shoes squishing in the mud, she darted after her target. Nothing else mattered, she was fixated, and it wasn't getting away this time. 

 

A flash of red and yellow caught her attention as she was on the hunt, and she wasn't going to miss the shot this time. Some of the weeds at her feet threatened to pull her down as she sprinted in a beeline for a crooked, moss-covered tree.

 

“Fuckin… perfect,” She grumbled quietly, positioning herself so that the sunbeams through the ancient, seemingly never-ending trees were ever-so-slightly spotlighting the lonely redwing blackbird as he called out a few times.

 

She went down on one knee, refusing to let herself feel the dew soak into her jeans. Making sure she had the perfect shot lined up, she pressed the -

 

_ WHAT'S THE WORST THING I CAN SAY - _

 

_ “Shit!” _ She stumbled, caught off guard and fell to both of her knees now, her hands hitting the ground. Her camera swung and bounce off of her chest and hit her in the face. She sat down on the ground, pressing buttons frantically to make sure she got the shot, sighing in relief when it didn't turn out too bad, actually!

 

_ SO LONG AND GOOD- _

 

Now that she had the attention to give it, she silenced her phone and realized it was about that time - she should've known the alarm was going to go off. Opening up her messenger bag, she popped a pill from a prescription bottle and swallowed it dry. 

 

They'd tripled the valium intake since her last visit to the psychiatrist’s, the first one she had been able to hide from her mother. The sound of her mother trying to convince the doctor that ‘there's nothing wrong with her!’ and ‘she's got nothing to be anxious about!’ stung like the ghostly razors on her skin.

 

It was time for that feeling to go, way past time. Thankfully, she was already eighteen and it was much easier to hide things, and she had the freedom to

 

_ WHAT'S THE WORST THING - _

 

“It's Max?” She answered the phone, standing up carefully and stepping a lot more cautiously than when she was chasing after her bird. “Oh. Hey, yeah. I'm on my way, I just… got sidetracked. Yeah, you know. I'll just be a half an hour, okay? Okay. God, I know. I’ll be home.”

 

She closed her phone, stuffing it into her pocket with a sigh. Things were a tiny bit better than when she was a minor, but… If Max wasn't always punctual, they'd be certain she was out doing something she shouldn't. 

 

Not that Max was ever doing bad things, of course.

 

Well, there was that one thing.

 

She had gotten into a bad crowd, just searching for someone to talk to who wasn’t a face on the other side of a computer screen, and had picked the wrong person. Max’s best friend was the type to party every weekend, to sleep around, and ‘opened her mind’ to new things to try out.

 

One day, under the heavy influence of half of a bottle of Jack and a few lines of whatever that was, Max was driving her friend home and lost control of her vehicle. Because her father was a man of…  _ influence _ , she was able to get out scott-free and the blame was put on the other driver. But her friend, on the other hand, paid the ultimate price. And Max shouldered that burden for almost a year now.

 

Her phone blared again, and though she was tempted to just let the fucker ring, she opened it back up and placed it to her ear. “Okay, what, Mom?”

 

She stopped in her tracks.

 

“I… what?”

 

She made sure her equipment was secure, then bolted for home faster than ever before - even like back when she was excited to come home.

 

Max knew, since she was a child, that she had a little sister. She’d never met her, since the mother seemed to have a vendetta against her father, but she was aware. She’d always wanted to meet her - but every time a meeting could be arranged by the court, her mother seemed to find a loophole out of it and only her father would be able to catch her for a mere fifteen minutes at a time.

 

They stopped trying when Max turned eleven.

 

But it had already been taken care of, right then. She was flying out that night. For Las Vegas.

 

After finally making it to her street, Max took her phone back out and panted as she speed dialed Melody.

 

“Hey, so…” She filled her friend in on the situation. “So, yeah. If you could be there. Or, you know, whatever.”

 

“Dude, you know I will. I’m going to hug you for probably, like, six hours straight.”

 

“Don’t push it.”

 

“What’s your sister’s name?”

 

“Lavenza. Why? Do you think you go to school with her or something?”

 

“I…” A long pause. “Yeah. I have to go.” Melody’s voice shook.

 

“Alright, I guess… I’ll be seeing you tomorrow or something, then.” Max hung up after a brief goodbye, psyching herself up to open the door.

 

Already, the sound of something slamming against the wall met her ears. Max held her backpack close to her chest, protecting her precious camera, just in case. Her mother’s voice pierced through her. Of course she was angry. Why didn’t they get the damn divorce before now? Perhaps when her sister was born, when they found out he was cheating? Wouldn’t that have been easier?

 

Why did they stay together; throwing punches, electronics against the wall, and disgusting words at each other?

 

The answer she got from her mother was always “I did this for you.” With tears in her eyes and blood dripping from her newly-battered jaw.

 

For her, huh?

 

So she wouldn’t have a “broken family.”

 

Sure.

 

Her father was the head of an insurance company in the heart of Portland - he drove a Mercedes and provided her mother with a beautiful car, a gorgeous home, and… “ _ protection.” _

 

Every time she’d beg her mother to leave, though, she was always met with a million reasons why growing up without both a mother and a father simultaneously would be bad for her young mind. As if being subjecting to him treating them like this was any better.

 

Max his her bag in a compartment under the bed, put her headphones back in, and dragged her feet into the living room. She just stared at her parents’ as they shouted to each other, music blaring in her ears, until they turned to her and settled down. She pulled out one earpiece and mumbled to them.

 

“So, you done?”

 

“Go and get packed, kid.”

 

“Mom said we’re leaving tomorrow. What time?” She tapped her foot once. “And how long are we gonna be there?”

 

“Probably for the summer, because…” Her mother was obviously feeling for the girl, born out of wedlock or not.

 

“Yeah, I know. So like, we’re staying there forever. Got it. Big suitcase.” Max put the headphone back in, turning from her parents with her hands in her pockets.

 

The whole summer. She was going to be holed up with them, in the middle of this, just… to say goodbye to someone she never was allowed to be attached to.

 

Funny, how it had to be under this kind of circumstance that they could finally meet. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to go. Part of her had already accepted Lavenza as if she never existed, or as if she had passed away already.

 

But here she was, shoving black shirt after black shirt in her suitcase.

 

Wait. Las Vegas was in the desert.

 

The climate was going to be a little different.

 

Was it going to be like, a hundred degrees every day or something?

 

It isn’t going to rain a bunch either, was it?

 

She shoved in the other shirts that hadn’t seen the light of day since they were smashed in the back of the closet into her suitcase instead, cringing at some of the bright colors. Whatever.

 

The thought of Melody somehow knowing her half sister crossed Max’s mind - obviously, she at least knew her name. Easy name to remember. What kind of name was that anyway?

 

What was she going to look like?

Was she going to look anything like her?

Were they going to act alike at all?

Would they have anything to talk about?   
What kind of music was she into?

 

Max stopped when she noticed her suitcase was filled. Was she missing anything? Was she really going to be gone that long? Were they going to be staying in a hotel? Was it going to be one of those gimmicky ones?

 

Not like they couldn’t afford it.

 

As soon as all of the important parts of Max’s room were tucked securely in her suitcase, and her camera bag was cradled gently in her arms, she was ready to go.

 

Wait, no, the polaroid camera. She shoved that into one of her bags as well, pleased with herself. That shit was going to pump out a  _ ton  _ of pictures of her with Melody.

 

-

 

_ Tink. tink. Tink. _

 

Lavenza got up from her bed, rubbing her eyes. 1:43. A lot later than usual. She yawned as she got the window open, then leaned out and smiled at her best friend below.

 

“Melody, it’s so late. What are you doing here?”

 

Scrambling up the ladder that was lazily left out, Melody stopped at the top rung. “Lavs, it’s important, okay?”

 

“O-okay,” She backed away from the window, giving Melody room to collapse onto the floor. “What is it?”

 

Mel sat, looking up to her, then reached out to take Lavenza’s tiny, dainty hands. She guided her to sit front of her, then a tear fell from her cheek.

 

“Melody, what’s wrong?”

 

“Why… didn’t you tell me?”

 

“Tell you what?”

 

“Don’t… play dumb with me!” Melody almost cried out, remembering to hush herself in just enough time to choke it back. “Your sister, okay, is… one of those guys I skype, like, every day. She’s on her way here, to Vegas. For the whole summer. T-to… say g-goodbye…”

 

Lavenza’s already pale cheeks lost the rest of her color. “Mel, I…”

 

“You said those tests came back negative. You lied to me. Why would you lie to me?”

 

“It’s not like that! I told the truth about those! They were wrong!” Lavenza’s eyes began to tear up, as well. “I wasn’t ready to tell you… about the other ones. You’ve been so distant since you started working, and I’ve been busy too, and I…”

 

“You…  _ lied to me.” _

 

“No I didn’t!” She snapped, recoiling away from Melody’s hands. “They didn’t find anything else wrong with my heart, they just found the other… problem…  _ spread…  _ I…”

 

She couldn’t get words out anymore, and her tears were more from fear than anything now.

 

“Lavs,” Melody let go of the rest of her tears finally, sobbing as she took her friend’s hands again, pressing her forehead into them. “L-lav you… you can’t go. There’s gotta be something I can do.”

 

“There isn’t, okay? I was too afraid to tell you because I knew… this would be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, and I ever will do,” She did her best to collect herself, taking in a long breath. “I knew, when I visited the doctor last summer, deep down, that I was… Or, wasn’t…”

 

“Would some kind of transplant save you? Could we save up money for some sort of tests? Is it money you need?”

 

“No, it’s not like that, Melody it’s -”

 

Melody stood, still holding one of her hands. “I can get you all the money you need. Just give me a number. Would… like, a million do?”

 

“Melody, what are you talking about?” Lavenza screwed her face up at her. “You’re not made of that kind of money.”

 

“I know bad people that are, that wouldn’t miss it. I can take them without them even realizing.” She squeezed Lavenza’s hand, enough to almost break her own wrist. “I c-can make it happen.”

 

Lavenza reeled her hand away again, more in shock than from in pain. She covered her mouth, almost as if she had to stifle a scream. “You… can do  _ what?” _

 

“I know it sounds crazy, but remember Mr. Peterson? How he never leaves his house? That was me. I’ve been figuring out how to do this lately, and I… I can do this for you.” She gave her friend a tiny smile. “I can try to save you.”

 

“You need to leave.”

 

Lavenza’s glare was cold, her tears were stinging her eyes. Melody just cocked her head at her friend, but as soon as she opened her mouth, Lavenza stood and pointed at the window.

 

“It’s been you this whole time. You’ve been undoing the good I’ve been trying to do.”

 

“Literally what are you talking about?” Melody raised her hands defensively. “What the hell are you saying, are -”

 

“You need to get out of my house!” She shoved Mel away, frantic. “I’ve gone to his palace. I went before… it happened. Everything is still there, and it’s… it’s mangled, and it’s destroyed, and it’s toxic, and it’s  _ your  _ fault? I’ve never seen something so hideous as the treasure you left behind, it’s rotten, and the most horrifying thing to -”

 

Melody couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Treasure? Palace? She  _ knew? _

 

“What was I supposed to do? How do you take a blank cloud of nothing out of a palace? What’s wrong with just shaping it so he stopped doing what he was doing?” There was a voice in the back of her mind telling her she was still in the right. She had to be. What else could she have done? What if he hurt someone else? She was delivering justice. She was  _ right.  _ She  _ had to be. _

 

“You make them afraid to lose it,” She narrowed her eyes. “You’ve changed a lot since we met. You were good, and fragile, and sweet. And now you’re…”

 

“Confident?”

 

“Delusional.” Lavenza pointed at the window again, and turned away from Melody. “Get out of my house. And don’t come back. I want this to be my last memory of you. Enjoy the rest of  _ your  _ life.”

 

“Lavs, you’re talking crazy,” Melody took a step closer to her.

 

“Get out!” Lavenza shoved her away. “You’re… a monster.”

 

“M-monster?” Melody blinked slowly, but did as she was told. She was finished arguing, she was finished with whatever this was. “I love you, Lavs.”

 

“Stop it.” Lavenza hugged herself tightly. “Stop it, please. Just let me go in peace.”

 

“If you… wanna talk later, you have my number.” Melody got onto the ladder backwards. “I’ll visit you in the hospital when you get in.”

 

“Don’t.”

 

“I can’t just let you go through that alone, okay? I know what it’s like to… you know, know you’re dying.” Melody spoke softly, just loud enough for her to hear. “I wish I would’ve had you with me when I went through it. Maybe things would be different… I-I want to be there for you.”

 

She was being honest, there was no denying that. Maybe she wasn’t all bad, but… 

 

“Goodnight,” Lavenza let out softly, her tearstained face red and flustered. “B-be safe on the way home.” As soon as she could, she slammed the window shut and locked it.

 

-

 

“Yeah. I’m here. And there’s a lot of people. Where are you?” As soon as she was given a location, Max shut her phone and shoved it in her pocket along with her hands. This wasn’t exactly a place she wanted to navigate around, but she didn’t have much of a choice.

 

Max was outside, her eyes darting from one side to the other as a sea of people crowded past her.

 

“Maximus?”

 

She turned, eyes strained, not sure where she heard the voice - until she looked down. “M…  _ Melody?” _

 

“Max!” She screeched, flinging herself at her friend, embracing her for the first time. “Dude, I can’t believe you’re here! You’re not staying on the strip the whole time, are you? In this hotel? God, you have no idea what I have to fill you in with but like, I’ve got so much to say. Sucks, the circumstances, but I’m so happy to see you here and -”

 

“Shut up,” A tiny smile pulled at Max’s lips. “You’re talking faster than normal. I can’t keep up with your bullshit.”

 

“Okay, okay,” Mel overdramatically drew in a breath. “First, I love you.”

 

“Alright.”

 

“Second, I’m sorry for lying and saying I was taller.”

 

“Forgiven.”

 

“Third, I have a couple hundred bucks, and I’m taking you to the dinner and a show jousting thing in the basement here.”

 

“...Really?” Max frowned. “Oh, yeah, you said you had that high-paying job. What are you doing again?”

 

“It starts soon, actually, so we should go! Come on, you’re my date, let me treat you!” She took Max’s hand and started pulling her.

 

“Mel, seriously, you’re acting weird.. What are you doing?” She shook her friend off, then placed her hands down on Mel’s shoulders. “Are you stripping for money?”

 

“I’m not even sixteen yet!”

 

“It’s Vegas, I don’t know that you’re not,” Max sighed, gathered herself, and then her hands went back into her pockets. “You’ve just been… distant lately. And you’re being weird. The past few months, you’ve hardly talked to me. I  _ know  _ you. Something’s up.”

 

“N-no, I just… Actually, I told you, I made a friend is all. And, that job…”

 

“Mel, you can talk to me.” She shook her head. “We’ve been friends for too long for me to not know when you’ve got shit going down.”

 

“I… Don’t wanna talk about it right now. I just want to watch dudes in medieval armour launch themselves at each other.”

 

“Dude, same here, but we’re talking after.” She shook her head and sighed. “Where’s this show at then? I’m hungry.”

 

The show was soon over, and they were laughing with each other, just happy to be together in person. Max led Melody up to her room - which she ended up getting to herself indefinitely, thank the gods.

 

Max sat one one bed, Mel on the one beside it.

 

“Now tell me what you do for work. Seriously.”

 

“I just… gather information.” Melody fidgeted with her own hands.

 

“What kind of information? For whom?”

 

“I’m like… a private investigator, I’m super persuasive. I help my dad out a lot.”

 

“That sounds illegal as hell,” Max sighed, folding her hands together. “Stay out of trouble, would you? Are you working for someone shady? Isn’t your dad like… scary?”

 

“I mean, some people I’ve  _ interrogated  _ have been pretty gross, but I can hold my own. I’ve been working out, see?” She flexed a bicep to prove herself to Max.

 

She got up from her bed sitting next to Mel and sighing loudly. “I couldn’t ever say it online in case Big Brother was listening, but… you know how we got rich?”

 

Mel shook her head silently.

 

“My dad is messed up with some shitty people… he’s…” She couldn’t look Mel in the eyes. “He’s the only reason I’m not in jail.”

 

“You weren’t like, drunk when you got in that crash, were you?” Melody’s eyes went wide.

 

“Not according to the records. According to them, the other driver was the one messed up on shit.”

 

“Max…” She whispered. “It wasn’t your fault, man, it was just -”

 

“It  _ was, _ ” Max’s voice was stern, more so than usual. “He’s got a lot of pull with a lot of people. That’s probably why Mom stays with him.”

 

“Because she’s afraid she’ll get hurt worse if she leaves?”

 

A solemn, slow nod.

 

“I… can change that.”

 

Max’s brows furrowed. “The hell you talking about?”

 

“I don’t know how to explain it or if you’ll believe me, but that’s… what I’ve been doing for work.” Melody smirked a little, then clenched her fists, jabbing at the air. “I instill fear into the hearts of disgusting men and ruin their lives with the strength of just my will to -”

 

“How can someone that’s not even five feet tall instill fear into anyone?” Max almost smiled, amused.

 

“Listen -”

 

“We took a dark turn. I saw an ice cream shop in the hotel on our way back up. Let’s get some. You know, before we talk about the other elephant in the room.” She stood, instantly going for the door.

 

“The what?”

 

“The fact you apparently know my sister.”

 

Melody’s face went white, the memory of the night before flooding back. “How’d you -”

 

“I know you,” Max muttered, exiting the room and trusting Mel would follow. She took the lead instead, overtaking Max confidently. “Like I said, we’ve been friends for like, years now.”

 

“Okay, so the friend I made earlier this school year…”

 

“It was her.”

 

“Yeah, and… I mean, we hit a rough patch now, but we - “ Melody stopped in her tracks.

 

“What’s the hold up?” Max stopped before she could run her tiny friend over. “Why’d you -”

 

A tall, brightly-clothed boy with a distinct sidecut stood in front of them, ice cream cone in hand. If he wasn’t so into it, he probably would’ve dropped it in shock.

 

“Druid? Siren?”

 

Melody probably would’ve passed out if it had been a year prior and her heart wasn’t in working order.

 

“Hex?” Max took a few steps closer. “Isaac, is that you?”

 

“Dudes!” He held his arms out wide. “What are the friggin’ chances?”

 

“This is unbelievable.”

 

“Why are you here?!” Mel held her arms out as well, hooking Isaac into a tight hug.

 

“Told y’all my mom was getting married, right?”

 

“Yeah, like, a year ago.”

 

“Well, tomorrow’s the big day!” He patted the top of Mel’s head with the hand that wasn’t holding ice cream. “Also, why are you so small? I thought you said you were five feet -”

 

“Fuck you.”

 

“No.” He let her go, raising an eyebrow at Max and receiving an awkward sidehug from her. “But… wow. Literally, what are the chances of us all being here at the same time? It’s like it was planned or something.”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I could’ve planned for this!”

 

“You told us your schedule for this week a few days ago and you said you were working today. I thought I’d surprise you on your day off, I guess. What are you doing for work anyway?”

 

“She’s stripping.”

 

“Am not!” Mel punched Max’s shoulder, getting a tiny smile in return. 

 

“Wow, that almost hurt.”

 

“But the real question is - why are you here, Max?” Isaac’s expression darkened, and he almost looked completely serious for once.

 

“My sister, the one I told you about forever ago…” Max put her hands back into their places in her pockets. “I’m here to meet her, since she’s got pancreatic cancer and she’s not gonna live much longer.”

 

Melody’s nails dug into the skin of her arm. 

 

“...Stop that,” Max lightly slapped her friend’s hand.

 

“Oh, crap, dude, that’s… really sad.” Isaac licked at his quickly-melting ice cream. “You sound like you need some of this, too.”

 

“Yes, please,” Mel muttered, then the trio started walking toward the ice cream. Max took Mel’s hand so she would stop hurting herself on the way there, letting Isaac take the lead and listening to his complaints about how his hand was covered in goo now.

 

-

 

“ _ We’re in _ ,” Akira’s voice was quiet.

 

“ _ What _ ?”

 

“ _ Akira, man, we don’t even know the whole story yet _ !”

 

“ _ You don’t want me to continue _ ?” Melody’s face screwed up, not expecting to finish there.

 

“ _ No. I trust you. The way you talk about Lavenza is enough. You really want to save her, _ ” The trickster nodded once. “ _ And I do too _ .”

 

“ _ Let me know what time works for all of you. I’m thinking of bringing you to Seattle, there’s an ally I have down there that might be willing to help us out _ .” She blinked slowly. “ _ Yeah, that’ll probably be our best in. I’m stationed out of Nevada, still, but I haven’t reached the depths of the mementos there yet. And the god of the one in Seattle is actually a pretty decent dude _ .”

 

“ _ Why do you need to be in the depths _ ?” Morgana’s head poked out of Akira’s bag again. “ _ What does that have to do with anything? _ ”

 

“ _ That’s how I get into the velvet room? _ ” Melody raised an eyebrow. “ _ The depths of Mementos or the heart of a palace, that’s where it always manifests. And I’ll need to bring Akira in with me in order to get Goro to come out, remember. He requested him specifically.” _

 

_ “The velvet room always was in the entrances for me,”  _ Akira was puzzled. “ _ Or, even, in the streets.” _

 

_ “Someone had it easy,”  _ Melody grumbled.  _ “But that’s how it is back home.” _

 

_ “I’ll talk it out with the others as soon as possible. We’ll be in contact.” _

 

“ _ Thank you,”  _ Melody whispered, still amazed. Was he bluffing? Was he planning something? Did he truly trust her? Ryuji was still staring at him, intently, confused as well. Or maybe that was something else. What even was that expression? She narrowed her eyes, focusing a bit.

 

“ _ Take a picture,”  _ His voice snapped her out of it, and he stood. “ _ Well, it is getting late. Is that why you decided now? The last train runs in half an hour.” _

 

_ “Yeah, that’s pretty much it.” _

 

“ _ Plan on seeing me soon. I’ll wire you half of the pay the night before you go, so you’ll have enough to take care of yourselves while you’re there.”  _ Mel got up as well, hesitating for a moment, used to leaving tips at a table. 

 

“ _ Half the pay in advance,”  _ Ryuji’s voice was quiet and almost squeaky. 

 

“ _ Stay safe, boys.”  _ Mel bowed, then they all said their goodbyes.

 

“ _ So, where you going? You going back to Sojiro’s place tonight or something?”  _ His voice was hushed, and Ryuji was almost acting shy.

 

“ _ That was sort of the plan, why?” _

 

_ “You can stay with me if you want, man. The couch is open.” _

 

_ “You won’t take the couch and let me take the bed?” _

 

_ “W-well, I mean -” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALSO I've already written out Akechi and Akira meeting again for the first time and my heart is full thank y'all for giving my lil self indulgent labor of love the time of day! I really appreciate it!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! A long one but a happier one. We're at the halfway point, ladies and gents.
> 
> More stuff in the works! There's actually talk with the artist from the last chapter about a comic next!  
> <3

Ryuji was on the floor, looking up at his ceiling, his best friend sprawled out in his bed. 

 

_ “So… what really happened with you and Ann?” _ He asked innocently.  _ “She won’t talk about it either.” _

 

_ “Huh? Oh, it was nothing. The distance just kind of killed our relationship.”  _ Akira’s tone was a little darker than it needed to be _. “Neither of us put in the time, so we just… let it die.” _

 

“ _ Oh _ .” Ryuji was quiet. “ _ Well, I’m glad ours didn’t die, then. Did she come see you at all? Did the phone calls not do it? _ ”

 

“ _ Not really, _ ” He dropped it there. “ _ Speaking of phone calls, you know how you called me before we took Shido down? _ ”

 

“ _ Y-yeah, I remember. Why? _ ”

 

“ _ What were you really going to say? _ ”

 

_ “Oh, I just… I wanted you to come over and meet my mom in case anything happened to us, she wanted to meet you real bad. But I mean, that happened anyway! So… I never brought it back up.” _

 

_ “Yeah?” _

 

_ “Yeah.”  _

 

_ “You know you can tell me anything, right?” _

 

_ “I know. That’s why you’re my best friend,”  _ He sat up, smiling at Akira, as if to show him his honesty.  _ “So, uh… if she’s single now… you think I got a chance?” _

 

“ _ You want my seconds? _ ” Akira would’ve smacked him with the pillow if he was lying on, but that would’ve taken effort.

 

_ “Dude!” _

 

-

 

“ _ This… plane is just for us? _ ” Yusuke’s eyes widened with childlike wonder. The group spent the most of the day fidgeting and waiting for the time to stop dragging. But here they were, in their own gate in the airport.

 

_ “I suppose there’s no backing away now.” _ Sae was the first to climb aboard. She peered through the vessel, spotting nothing out of the ordinary. She motioned for the rest to follow her.

 

“Welcome aboard!”  _ English.  _ Sae bowed, thanked him, and got out of the way and allowed the rest of the group to board. “Our estimated time of arrival is 8:25 AM, so get comfy! You’ve been provided with drinks and snacks, feel free to help yourselves!”

 

“Thank you!” Ann bowed to him, as well.

 

He gave a hearty chuckle and bowed back to her. “Once you’re ready, let me know, and we’ll be off!”

 

_ “Do… you know what he’s saying?” _ Ryuji instantly took a seat next to Akira, muttering to him quietly.

 

_ “Kind of.” _

 

_ “There… is so much chocolate,” _ Ann’s went wide as she opened a compartment.  _ “Oh, it’s all American, this stuff is so -” _

 

_ "Why'd it have to be this stuff?" _

 

Once everyone was settled in, they were off, and though it was nerve-wracking and way too long. When the plane landed, the sun was just beginning its ascent, and a single well-dressed man in a black suit with sunglasses holding a sign saying “Kurusu Party” was waiting inside the gate for them. He did not speak to them besides a simple  _ “I will show you to your hotel.” _

 

He did so, driving and dropping them off at a rather swanky-looking building. He handed them key cards, pointed to the elevator, and let them go without another word.

 

Futaba was already on her phone throughout the entire ride, updating a very worried Sojiro - who apparently paid the insane amount of money to have wifi the entire flight over there. She didn’t look up as she boarded the elevator, where Makoto blinked at their keys in shock and pressed the button for the top floor.

 

_ “We’re all… in the same room?” _ Yusuke asked quietly, a little shaken.

 

_ “We probabaly have a penthouse suite,”  _ Haru nodded _. “It’s at the top floor…” _

 

They each left the elevator, and Sae opened the door for them all. Haru was right, the suite had enough rooms for everyone, and then some. Two bottles of sparkling juice and some baskets filled with treats were on the piano that faced them as they entered, a note attached to one of the baskets.

 

_ I’m going to give you one day to get used to the time shift. _

_ Tomorrow at 5:00pm, we will meet of the lobby of this hotel. _ __   
_ I will provide a shuttle, and we will proceed to the entrance of Seattle’s version of mementos. _ __   
_ Do not worry about combat, it is very unlikely that you will have to do anything. _ _   
_ __ I will take care of everything in that regard.

_ Please enjoy the room and everything you find inside, all is complimentary! _ _   
_ _ I’ll show you some sights once the mission is complete, as well as the rest of the reward. _

_ -special agent melody gordon _ __   
  


_ Thank you. Truly. _ _   
_ _ I could not save them all without your cooperation. _

 

_ “Save… them ‘all?’ Who’s she mean?”  _ Ann put the letter down after reading it for everyone.  _ “Sure, the girl in the velvet room, and Akechi-kun, but…” _

 

_ “It’s obvious she has more in mind, isn’t it,” _ Makoto sighed.

 

_ “It’s the rest of her band of thieves,”  _ Akira spoke up. He’d already told them all what he knew of her story, but the flight must’ve made them a little fuzzy _. “I couldn’t imagine losing you all. I want to help her find them.” _

 

_ “Oh, yeah, she said something about being in the other room for a few years. She probably lost contact with them after that.” _ Morgana leapt out of Akira’s bag, stretching out comfortably on a fancy chaise lounge. _ “She said Loki’s power gave her the ability to go directly into people’s palaces, without needing any keywords or any nav… I’ve been thinking about that.” _

 

_ “Y’think that power’s the thing Gordon gets from the deal she was talking about with your master, or whatever, was?”  _ Ryuji seemed pensive, stroking his bare chin. “ _ Is she usin’ us to get stronger?” _

 

_ “Obviously she’s using us. There’s no way she would’ve nonchalantly sent you so much money and given us this kind of service if she didn’t have some sort of ulterior motive.”  _ Makoto sat down on the lounge, holding her head in her hands. _ “I don’t feel like this is a trap for us, but… is  _ she herself  _ in trouble, do you think?” _

 

_ “Maybe we should’ve listened to the  _ whole  _ story,” _ Mona stared at Akira, his eyes narrowing. He got a shrug in response. “ _ She’s a total blabbermouth though. I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of what we’re gonna hear.” _

 

_ “Yeah, she does talk a lot. She could’ve been all, ‘I was chosen by the evil guy you killed and my power got taken away. I work for the good guys and I need help finding my friends!’ and I would’ve been fine with that.” _ Ryuji gave her a much higher pitched and less raspy voice than the one she truly had as he mocked her.

 

_ “Akechi-kun…” _ Ann sighed and looked off into the distance.  _ “If a change so drastic happened in her when she lost that psychotic persona, does that mean he’s going to be different, too?” _

 

_ “Maybe we can have him go through therapy, and if he gets better…”  _ Though her voice was sweet as always, Haru’s face was dark. _ “We can figure out what to do with him from there?” _

 

_ “He obviously is going to need help. Perhaps Gordon’s contacts will have the ability to give him that much.”  _ Sae agreed. _ “He honestly didn’t strike me as a bad person. Perhaps it truly was the will of that… power. In part, at least.” _

 

_ “I’m beat.”  _ Ryuji interjected, dragging his feet to the first available room. _ “Guess we figure it out tomorrow, huh?”  _

 

_ “Yeah.” _

 

_ “Sojiro should be here in a few hours,” _ Futaba yawned, also making her way to her own room.  _ “He knows where we are now, so we’re safe if we get abducted. Sleep well, guys.” _

 

_ “I still can’t believe we’re really going to rescue him.”  _ Makoto stood, letting out a sigh.  _ “I guess part of me still doesn’t believe the metaverse still exists.” _

 

_ “Same here. We killed that God… is there truly more to our power? Can there be a bigger explanation beyond what we already know?” _ Yusuke laid down on the lounge, almost instantly falling asleep despite how hard he was thinking. 

 

Akira blinked, recalling the existence of the Velvet Room itself. Was there more?

 

Whatever, it was late. Or, really early here, but it felt late to them.   
He’d think about it harder when they were out the next day.

 

-

 

4:55pm. Melody walked into the hotel’s lobby, smelling strongly of the cigar she had just put out. She strode over to the group of teenagers waiting for her, smiling widely.

 

_ “Brilliant! You’re very punctual,”  _ She bowed to them, then gestured for them to follow her.  _ “Here, let’s just be on our way. It really shouldn’t take too long.” _

 

_ “You sure you don’t want me to accompany you?” _ Sae asked, uncomfortable.

 

_ “Sis, I’m sorry, but this is a job for the Phantom Thieves,” _ Makoto smiled at her, a bit empowered by her own words.

 

_ “You said we don’t have to worry about combat, what did you mean?” _ Though he was obviously in Haru’s arms, the staff of the hotel didn’t seem to mind Morgana being out. 

 

_ “I have friends in both low and high places, remember?”  _ She winked.  _ “One of those friends is the ‘god’ that rules down there. Y’know, they lucked out here. They’re actually not that bad of a… and entity? They were formed by the people’s desire to party, but the people are kinda mellow here. I think it’s all the hipsters and the fact weed’s legal or something. So they just… kinda exist and feed off of it. I had to fight my way through this place with the other two, but once we got down there and talked to them… they put an end to the bullshit and as long as I visit once in a while, they’re cool with me coming in and using the door to the Velvet Room.” _

 

_ “Are there any other places you have like that besides this one?” _

 

She motioned for everyone to follow her, opening the door to the shuttle for them and getting into the front seat next to the driver casually.  _ “Oh, yeah, sure, there’s one in New Jersey formed around an old folk’s home or something that’s pretty tame. There’s one in Texas, a few in Canada…” _ Mel bit her lip in thought. “ _ In Michigan, in Oregon, in -” _

 

_ “How are so many places okay with you just walking in?” _ Mona was visibly shocked.

 

_ “I’ve been in the business for a long time!”  _ Melody smiled genuinely. _ “It’s taken a lot of work, but with the right charm and a good amount of firepower, you can pretty much take them down. You guys were just unlucky and got the big guy.” _

 

_ “Were you able to face him at all?” _ Akira asked, settling into the seat behind their chauffeur. 

 

“ _ No _ ,” She admitted.  _ “We were almost to the bottom of the mementos in Las Vegas, when I…” _

 

_ “When you ended up in the red room?” _

 

“Bingo.”

 

She fell silent, seemingly for the first time since they spoke to her.

 

_ “Why exactly did you pull Akechi into the Velvet Room?” _

 

_ “I remember it so vividly, I was in a politician’s palace about to take his treasure when the Velvet Room’s door was open. When I realized I could finally go back inside, I kicked the door down, and it was empty again…” _ She furrowed her brows. _ “And when I walked into the Red room directly after, it was crumbling, and I could see the boy in his cell looking up at the walls as they fell down… I guess I could see myself in him. I picked him up and tossed him out, plain and simple. He tried to protest, saying something like ‘I deserve to die here,’ but the muscles proved useful.” _

 

_ “Didn’t you know him staying in the Velvet Room would mean taking over for Lavenza?” _

 

_ “No idea at that point. We learned later. I just wanted to save the kid, and I knew what he was waiting in there for, since I was there for so long, too.” _ She shook her head.  _ “I’ve been visiting him every week since.” _

 

_ “I just want to know what you knew about my mom, _ ” Futaba piped in, practically standing in the back seat to catch some attention. _ “You haven’t brought her up at all, you made it sound like you knew how she got all her information.” _

 

_“It was Isaac,”_ Melody nodded.  _ “That’s… another really long story.” _

 

_ “I need to hear it.” _

 

_ “You will! But we’re nearly there. I’ll be meeting you in the lobby every day while you’re here. I promise, I’ll fill you in on everything I can.” _

 

She wasn’t lying, and the shuttle stopped on the side of a street in the city.

 

_ “C’mon, it’s just a few minutes over to the space needle.” _ She bounced out of the car, standing proudly as she opened the door for the rest of them.

 

_ “Thanks, I…” _ Yusuke got out first, looking down at the special agent, puzzled. “ _ My, you’re very…” _

 

_ “Small, yeah, I know.” _ She furrowed her brows.  _ “I didn’t wear my boots today, I knew we were going to have to walk this.” _

 

After a short walk, and a single cigarette, Mel tossed the butt aside and scoped out the area.

 

_ “There’s people all over, how do sneak into the -” _

 

_ “Shh, over here,”  _ Mel motioned for them to hide with her behind a dumpster.  _ “Everyone, hold hands, okay?” _

 

They all looked at her blankly, but they did as they were told. Akira took Melody’s hand, and she pulled them along, toward the crowd of people.

 

_ “H-hey! What do you think you’re -” _ The world seemed to change color, only slightly, and it was almost as if they were walking into a mirror for a few moments. Soon, the skinny, towering icon of the city was seemingly inverting itself, and Melody let go of Akira’s hand.

 

“Welcome back to the Metaverse, kids,” Mel’s voice was crisp, clear, and much easier for them to understand beyond her thick accent than they’d ever heard. “Hey, Morgana, you  _ do  _ look weird.”

 

“I do not look weird!” Morgana snapped back, then looked down to realize he did transform - just like back in the old days. “Oh, man…”

 

“Our clothes didn’t change,” Makoto noted. “But it’s obviously…”

 

“We aren’t a threat, then.” Yusuke smiled. “Then she was obviously was telling the truth.”

 

“I’m not here to deceive you kids,” She frowned. “I’m here to save Akechi and Lavenza.”

 

“You wrote in your letter that you were going to save ‘them all,’ what was that about?” Ann asked straight out.

 

“I was trying to tell the guys that I need my old powers back to palace-hop like I used to,” Melody muttered. “Sure, mementos is easy to jump into if you know what you’re looking for, but getting into palaces is really difficult without knowing keywords, or whatever.”

 

“We were right!” Ryuji grinned. “Wait, why can I understand you so well?”

 

“It’s your cognition that you can understand her, I bet she’s not even speaking Japanese anymore.” Morgana bounced. “You said we’re going all the way down, right? Let me try something!”

 

“Mona, do you really think that’ll work -” Before Makoto could finish, Morgana had already transformed into a bus. “Oh. I guess that’s a normal cognition here, too. Why is that?”

 

“Thank god, I wasn’t looking forward to climbing stairs today!” Mel just hopped into the cat, not questioning what was going on at all. Akira took his spot in the front, Ryuji hot on his heels and the rest piled in.

 

It didn’t take long for them to speed through the inverted space needle, and small talk filled the drive. Once they made it to the bottom, a pile of shadows was massed in a circle around an androgynous, green individual sitting on a bed of roses. They reached a hand out to Melody as she emerged from the car, and she kissed their hand tenderly.

 

“My liege,” She smiled. “We are only passing through, I’m afraid.”

 

They grinned, motioning for her to continue and went back to doing whatever they were doing before. Yusuke produced a sketchpad from seemingly nowhere and plopped onto the ground in front of the ‘treasure,’ who chuckled softly and posed for him casually.

 

“This is wild,” Ryuji muttered.

 

“Do you see it, man?” Mel asked as she walked back to Akira, nodding over at the other side of the room.

 

“I… Not really.” He shook his head. “But I’ll trust you.”

 

“Good!” Melody held out her hand for Akira again and he took it, no questions asked. He coudn’t see the door clearly - but there was definitely something about the feeling he got as they got closer to the wall. Mel pulled open the door and led him inside, an old wave of emotions pouring over him as his clothing manifested into his old thief attire.

 

“Trenchcoat, huh? We’re like opposites,” She chuckled. Mel’s revealing outfit proudly displayed the scar on her chest and her sprawling, colorful tattoos. The fabric glowed a soft purple in the blue light, and Akira had to mentally force himself to stop staring down at her for a moment. She wasn’t exactly a looker, but… there was that  _ thing  _ she had going for her. “C’mon, we have to do some more walking. It’s just a little farther this way.”

 

“I knew you were full of yourself. The cape confirms it.” Akira smirked, finally finding his words despite the strange feeling of nostalgia and reality forcing his mouth shut.

 

“Shut up, you have…  _ three  _ coattails?”

 

Upon emerging from the corridor, they walked up to the single desk in the middle of the room together. Akira’s heart stopped for a moment.

 

“Welcome to the -”

 

“Melody? Akira?” The attendant, beaming, walked effortlessly over to the pair. “What a beautiful sight, the both of you together!”

 

“Ah! I see two tricksters have come together. What brings you back to my Velvet Room?” Igor was sitting peacefully behind his desk, just like always.

 

“I’m finishing my end of the bargain.” Melody nodded confidently. “I’ll go butter him up, you can catch up with these two, if you like.”

 

“I have missed you,” Lavenza bowed to Akira, and he returned it. “When she told me you’d be coming, I couldn’t contain my joy. It seems you’re here to save me, yet again.”

 

“I can’t pass up an opportunity to see an old friend.” Akira grinned, shaking his head. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

 

“And though you’ve found the Answer to your own journey, you’ve come to help with another’s. You truly are the greatest man on earth.”

 

He would’ve argued that it was a stretch, but he just chuckled instead.

 

Melody had already made her way down the hall, taking her normal seat on the ground in front of the only locked cell.

 

“Oh, hello,” Goro Akechi was sitting opposite her now, a soft grin on his face. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t have come earlier,” She sighed, scrunching up and bringing her knees close to her chest. “But I finally brought him with me, just like I promised.”

 

He blinked slowly. “You got Akira to come?”

 

Mel nodded. “Please, you can come out now.”

 

“You know I can’t do that,” Akechi gripped the bars, shaking his head. “I don’t deserve to go back.

 

“Gee, your hair’s already going white,” Melody reached out to touch it, running her fingers through his split ends and noting the light blonde color - much like Lavenza’s changed. “You need to come back, please.”

 

“Mel, I…”

 

“It really is you,” Akira entered, kneeling down to be at their level. “Why are you on the ground?”

 

“Oh, my apologies.” Akechi stood, giving his former teammate a tiny bow. “This is just how this usually goes, I suppose.”

 

Mel stood as well, adjusting one of her belts and her shorts. “I know how lonely it gets in a place like this. I’m usually here for a while.”

 

“It truly only feels like it’s been a few weeks since my… passing. You feel like a daily visitor.” Akechi smiled pleasantly. “I truly don’t deserve your company.”

 

“Be reasonable,” Melody shook her head. “I used to come this often before I snatched you up, having you has only made it more interesting. I really do find you to be interesting.”

 

“You’ve got some good stories to tell, yourself.”

 

“Why aren’t you outside of your cell, Akechi?” Akira leaned against the wall, adjusting his gloves and smiling at the familiarity.

 

“I don’t belong outside of a prison cell. I’ve done horrible things, and this is how I plan to atone.”

 

Akira got a vicious eyeroll from Melody.

 

“You don’t have to be  _ here  _ for that,” Akira shook his head. “There are other ways to make up for what you’ve done.”

 

“But are there?” Akechi stood, gripping the the bars again. “Is there really anything I can do?”

 

“Of course, you can use your power for good. Or, you could come back with us. The metaverse doesn’t exist in Japan anymore.”

 

His eyes went wide.

 

“She told me you’d taken the Holy Grail down, but…”

 

“It’s true. I couldn’t even find a door to the Velvet Room there.” Mel nodded.

 

“Damn…” The prisoner blinked slowly. “So even if… he…”

 

“He’s gone. You’re fine,” Melody reached out and placed her hand on his. “As soon as Yaldabaoth is gone, his power is gone. Loki isn’t a part of you.”

 

“Oh, right, she told me what it’s like for him to be a part of you. It doesn’t excuse the things you’ve done, but… you should be able to control yourself better, especially if we get you into therapy.”

 

“And like I’ve said, I can set that up for you.”

 

He wouldn’t look either of them in the eyes.

 

“We want to thank you for saving us. Honestly, we were all glad to find that you’re still alive.” Akira stood back from the bars. “Come on, let’s go back home.”

 

“You’re not… planning anything, are you?”

 

“Only on getting you better.”

 

The bars disappeared in a soft glow, and Akechi took a few steps closer to his former teammate. “I trust you. I…” He paused, still not looking him in the eye. “Thank you for making the trip out here. It means a lot to me.”

 

Akira, not really thinking, placed an arm around him, giving him a soft side-hug. “It’ll be nice to have the whole team together.”

 

Akechi teared up, but he held them back. When he was released, all he could let out was a soft, shaky, “Thank you.”

 

“Come on kid, let’s get you out of here,” Melody was beaming. “I’ll stop by the Boss for a minute, wait for me. He probably is going to be disoriented for a while since he’s been here so long, okay, Akira?”

 

They both nodded, and followed her lead with a bit of space between them. She sped off over to Igor, and they caught only her saying “It’s done.” Mel held out her hand, and he shook it.

 

“Then allow me to fulfill my end of the bargain.” Another light blue glow. Melody reeled back afterward, holding her head as if she was just hit with a splitting headache. “Good luck on your journey to find Your Answer.”

 

“And tell my sister to pay me a visit,” Lavenza smiled, taking Melody’s hand as she went to put them back into her pockets. She blushed slightly. “And bring Isaac here, too. I’ve missed his silly jokes.”

 

“Me too, Lavs,” She pulled Lavenza’s hand up to place a kiss on it, then released her and met back up with the boys. “I’ll bring them back as soon as I find them.”

 

“We’re really going back now,” Akechi’s voice was far away.

 

“Yup. Now, hold on,” Akira took his hand, as well as Melody’s, who pulled them through the door again. As soon as they emerged back into the heart of the dungeon, a blinding light signifying their departure shone and Akechi fell limp and practically lifeless between them.


End file.
